by Nighthawk » May 12, 2006, 08:05:02 PM
As I have a little time today, I have checked a lot of units in the VTE Mod. Again, great job, but with some mistakes.
NVA and VIETCONG
Submachineguns
To my knowledge, no PPD 40 were sent to North Vietnam by Soviet Union. NVA use the following SMGs :
PPSh41 (until 1959, thereafter in militia/popular units)
PPS-43
K-50M
MAT-49 (captured from French, and used during war against French from 1951, and thereafter within North Vietnamese forces for a short time)
7,62 mm MAT-49 (A North Vietnamese copy of the MAT-49, chambered in 7,62 instead of 9 mm)
Thompson (same thing than MAT-49)
Type 50 (Chinese copy of the PPSh, with a different magazine)
Type 36 (Chinese copy of the M3A1 Grease Gun)
As the war progressed, SMGs tend to be replaced by assaut rifles (AKM or Type 56) in first line units.
VC used the same type of SMGs, more/but :
Thompson were very common, still after 1965, including homemade copies
Madsen M/50
Sten and Sten homemade copies
Samopal SA.24 (wrongly called Vz.24 ; they rare and perhaps some of them were also used by NVA)
MAS 38
M3A1 Grease Gun (taken from ARVN) and Type 36 (Chinese copy of the M3A1)
Assault rifles
Some M14s fall obviously in the hand of the VC guerrilla, but they were rare and probably not often used as Vietnamese disliked them. So, there shouldn't have VC with M14.
Same thing for CAR-15 ; it seems VC didn't like the few ones they captured.
The pic of the so called "Type 56" is in fact a Type 68, a Chinese variant of the SKS. But Type 68 weren't delivered to NVA (neither to VC). Type 56 are in fact three weapons :
The semi-auto Type 56 (Chinese copy of the SKS)
The assault rifle Type 56 (Chinese copy of the AK-47)
The LMG Type 56-1 (Chinese copy of the RPD)
Each of these weapons were in use within NVA and VC forces, alongside with Soviet original models.
Some Stg.44 were sent to North Vietnam by East Germany, and North Vietnam gave them to VC.
Rifles and carbines
During the first Indochina War, Viet Minh was armed with dozens of rifles. After the Independance of the two Vietnam (South and North), old weapons were given to militia/popular forces in North Vietnam, and put in reserve. When North Vietnam started to supply Communist guerrilla in South, a lot of these obsolete small arms were released to VC.
Bertier rifles (taken from French, and probably some Lebel)
Mousqueton Mle 1892 and mousqueton Mle 1916 (French carbines)
M1891/30 Mosin Nagant rifle
M1891/44 Mosin Nagant carbine
Type 53 carbine (M1891/44 Chinese copy)
MAS 36 rifle
Type 38 rifle (Japanese, rare as the war progress)
Type 99 rifle (Japanese, rare as the war progress)
Type 38 carbine (Japanese, rare as the war progress)
M1903A3 rifle
Mauser K.98 rifle (given to North Vietnam by East Germany and sent to the guerrilla in South)
Vz.24 rifle (Czech K.98, given by China to Viet Minh from 1950 ; thereafter given to VC by North Vietnam ; a very common weapon)
M1 carbines (very common)
M2 carbines (common)
Zip guns (homemade rifles)
Sniper rifles
NVA used the following sniper rifles :
M1890/30 PU Mosin Nagant rifle
M/52 rifle (Hungarian and not Czech as I had wrongly written ; variant of the M1890/30 PU, rare)
SVT-40 Tokarev (nothing sure, but it seems some had been used by NVA)
Some rare SVD Dragunov in April 1975 (I haven't found official infos about this...)
Mauser K.98 scoped rifle
VC used mainly the M1890/30 PU and Mauser K.98 scoped rifles, and some Type 97 and Type 99 Japanese sniper rifle before 1965.
Light machineguns and SAWs
Before the independance of South and North Vietnam, a number of LMGs were used, including Japanese and French. When the insurgency started silently in 1956 in South Vietnam, NVA had
ZB30
DPM
RP-46 (belt-feed variant of the DPM)
Type 58 (Chinese copy of the RP-46)
Some French FM 24/29
As the war progressed, they were replaced and given to VC. In 1965, NVA had :
RP-46 (one per company)
RPD
Type 56-1 (Chinese copy of the RPD)
RPK from 1967
TUL-1 (North Vietnamese copy of the TUL-1)
From 1956, Communist gerrilla had :
ZB30
DPM
RP-46
Type 58 (Chinese copy of the RP-46)
MG.34
FM 24/29
BAR (taken from ARVN)
Type 96 (Japanese)
Type 11 (Japanese)
Some Bren
As the war progressed, older weapons were given to local forces and VC Regional and Regular equipped with better ones :
RPD
Type 56-1
Grenade launchers
GP-25 grenade launchers were not used in Vietnam neither by NVA, or by VC. So, NVA grenadier should be equipped with :
SKS (or Type 56) with grenade discharger
AKM with PGN-2 antitank rifle grenade
VC grenadier would have :
MAS 36/51 (MAS 36 rifle with grenade discharger Mle 51 ; taken from French or South Vietnamese Army)
M79 Blooper (taken from US/ARVN)
M1 Garand + M7 grenade discharger (taken from ARVN)
And the same rifles with grenade discharger than NVA.
Antitank
NVA used RPG-2 and thereafter RPG-7 alongside with a lot of recoilless rifles.
57 mm M18A1
57 mm Type 36 (Chinese copy of the M18A1)
They were very common weapons, more than RPG-2 before 1965.
75 mm M20 (captured from French or given by China)
75 mm Type 56 (Chinese modified copy of the M20)
82 mm B10 (around 1959, but I think later)
73 mm SPG-9 (around 1964, but I think later)
107 mm B11 (around 1965)
Before 1965, RPG-2 were rather rare in VC units (and very rare in local forces units), but VC had :
M18A1 and Type 36, some M20 and Type 56, some B10.
Moreover, a lot of homemade recoilless rifles were made in clandestine workshop, with homemade bazooka.
Some M20 Super Bazooka, captured from ARVN.
I will pursue later with a list of units for NVA/VC. Then, I'll send info on Allied side
Last edited by
Nighthawk on January 01, 1970, 03:00:00 AM, edited 1 time in total.
